Headlamp assembly

ABSTRACT

A headlamp assembly for a motor vehicle wherein the reflector of a headlamp is directly universally supported on a flexible conical lip of a plastic support cylinder. The headlamp is resiliently biased into seating arrangement with the lip and selectively positioned thereabout by means of circumferentially spaced aiming screws and extension springs.

United States Patent Little 1 Feb. 15, 1972 [54] HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY [72]Inventor: Sheldon G. Little, Birmingham, Mich.

[73] Assignee: General Motors Corporation, Detroit,

, Mich.

[221 Filed: Mar. 30, 1970 [2]] Appl. No.: 23,574

[52] US. Cl ..240/4L6, 240/90 [51] ..F2lv 19/02 [58] Field 01 Search..240/41 .6, 90

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,911,523 11/1959 Falge..240/41.6

3,502,862 3/1970 Hedgewick ..240/4 1 .5

2,824,214 2/1958 Bertsche ..240/41 2,286,448 1/1942 Wahlberg ..240/4l.5

Primary ExaminerRichard C. Queisser Assistant Examiner-John WhalenAttorney-4. L. Carpenter, E. J. Biskup and Peter D. Sachtjen [57]ABSTRACT A headlamp assembly for a motor vehicle wherein the reflectorof a headlamp is directly universally supported on a flexible conicallip of a plastic support cylinder. The headlamp is resiliently biasedinto seating arrangement with the lip and selectively positionedthereabout by means of circumferentially spaced aiming screws andextension springs.

' 1 Claim, 4 Drawing Figures HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY The present inventionrelates to headlamp assemblies for motor vehicles and, in particular, toa headlamp mounting for selectively positioning the projected light beamfrom a headlamp lighting unit.

Presently, most headlamp assemblies for motor vehicles use a mountinghaving a ball and socket connection for aiming the headlight beam. Thismounting typically includes a metallic mounting ring having a sphericalsurface which is universally adjustably seated against a metallic socketmember. A headlamp is positioned on the mounting ring and fixedlyclamped thereagainst by a retaining ring and mechanical fasteners. Apair of aiming screws and a tensioned compensating spring serve torearwardly bias the spherical surface against the socket member and,additionally, provide the adjusting means for selectively positioningthe projected light beam in the horizontal and vertical aiming planes.

The present invention contemplates a novel headlamp mounting whicheliminates many of the aforementioned components thereby simplifying theresultant structure. More Specifically, the universal connectionprovided by the mounting ring and the socketmember is replaced by adirect interaction between a plastic support cylinder and the headlamp.The support cylinder includes a frontal flexible lip which resilientlyengages and conforms to the shape of the headlamp reflector. Theretaining ring, instead of constituting a rigid clamping member, engagesthe outer periphery of the headlamp lens and is rearwardly resilientlybiased by means of intermediary aiming screws and extension springs. Theflexibility of the support lip thusprovides a resilient universalconnection and, as complemented by the extension springs, cushions andabsorbs vibration without affecting headlamp aim. The interaction of thereflector and seating lip are additionally equally advantageous in thatthe frictional resistance to aiming movement is relatively low andneither part is subject to corrosion and the consequent binding which issometimes associated with metallic parts.

Other features and advantages will be apparent to one skilled in the artupon reading the following detailed description, reference being made tothe accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a front view of a motorvehicle headlamp assembly made in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the universal connectionbetween the support cylinder and the reflector; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings, a headlamp assembly made in accordance withthe present invention is fixedly mounted on a front body panel 12 of amotor vehicle. A pair of headlamp assemblies .10 are installed insymmetrical relationship with respect to the longitudinal axis of thevehicle to form a conventional two-lamp or four-lamp lighting system.Each headlamp assembly 10 generally comprises a headlamp 14, a supporthousing 16, and a retaining ring 18. The projected beam of the headlamp14 is universally adjustably positioned in a manner to be subsequentlydescribed by means of equally circumferentially spaced aiming screws 20,21 and extension springs 22, 23.

Referring to FIG. 2, the headlamp 14 is a lighting unit of theconventional all glass sealed beam construction and comprises a lightsource 24 carrying a helically coiled filament 26 enclosed by areflector 28 and a lens 30. The reflector 28 is in the form of aparaboloid and has a reflective inner surface 32 for impartingdirectional control to light rays emanating from filament 26. The lens30 includes suitable optical faceting for imparting directional controlto the light beam controlled by the reflector 28. The lens 30 isintegrally joined to the reflector 28 by fusing at mating annularflanges 34 and 36. The filament 26 is supported on a lead wire 38 whichis structurally attached to an inner surface of metal ferrules 40embedded into the rear surface of the reflector 28. An electricalterminal 42 is soldered to each of the ferrules 40. An electricalconnector 44 attached to the terminal 42 serves to electrically connectthe filament 26 to a suitable source of electric power.

The headlamp 14 thus far described is adjustably mounted on the vehicleto distribute illumination in desired horizontal and vertical aimingplanes. To facilitate proper positioning of the projected light beam,the lens 30 is provided with a plurali ty of circumferentially spacedreference elements or pads 46 of the type disclosed in Arnold US. Pat.No 2,870,362, as signed to the assignee of the present invention.Briefly, the pads 46 define an aiming plane 50 which, when positioned ina known plane relative to the vehicle, will direct a projected 1 lightbeam in a desired horizontal or vertical distribution relative to thelongitudinal axis of the vehicle. As illustrated with reference to FIG.1, proper horizontal headlamp aim will be achieved when the aiming plane50 is correctly positioned with respect to a vertical axis 52. Propervertical headlamp aim will be achieved when the aiming plane 50 iscorrectly positioned with respect to a transverse or horizontal axis 54.

The support housing 16 is formed of a moldable low friction plasticmaterial and includes a circular base 58 and an axially extendingcylindrical sleeve 60. A forwardly projecting annular lip 62 formed onthe body panel 12 engages the inner surface of the sleeve 60 to alignthe support housing 16 on the vehicle. A plurality of circumferentiallyspaced rivets 64 fixedly attach the support housing 16 to the panel 12.A pair of radially outwardly projecting tabs 66 are formed at theperiphery of the base 58 in line with the mutually perpendicular axis 52and 54. A pair of forwardly projecting threaded bosses 68 are integrallymolded with the base 58 in diametrically opposed relation to the tabs66. The support housing 16 terminates with a flexible support lip 69having a conical or otherwise concave seating surface 70. A metal hoop72 retained in an annular groove at the forward end of the housing 16serves to maintain the circumference of the seating surface 70 whilepermitting a limited flexing so that the lip 69 can conform to thegradually changing contour of the reflector 28. In this respect, theconical angle of the surface 70 is selected to provide a contour whichmost closely approximates the mating surface of the reflector paraboloidthroughout the probable range of aiming adjustment.

The retaining ring 18 generally includes an inwardly turned annular rim73 which engages the flange 34 and a rearwardly extending cylindricalsleeve 74. A pair of locating clips 76 are attached to the sleeve 74 andare circumferentially spaced so as to axially register with the bosses68. Each clip 76 has a slotted inner leg 78 which engages a projection80 on the flange 36 of the reflector 28 to circumferentially index theheadlamp 14 relative to the retaining ring 18. The clip 76 additionallyincludes an outwardly extending slotted leg 82 which accommodates thegrooved head 84 of the aiming screw 20, the latter including a threadedshank 86 adjustably received within the bosses 68. The extension springs22, 23 serve to resiliently bias the reflector 28 directly against theseating surface 70. The flexibility of the lip 69 provides additionalresiliency to absorb road vibrations at the support interface without aresultant disturbance of headlamp aim.

With the aforementioned arrangement of components, the headlamp 14 ispositioned in a vertical aiming plane by rotating the aiming screw 21 tomove reflector 28 about the seating surface 70 as pivotally controlledon the axis 54 by the spring 22 and the screw 20. To position theheadlamp 14 in a horizontal aiming plane about the vertical axis 52, theaiming screw 20 is selectively rotated thereby pivoting the reflector 28about the vertical axis 52 established by the spring 23 and the screw21. During either of these aiming operations, the low friction universalconnection at the seating interface between the lip 69 and the reflector28 accommodates the full universal adjustment without binding. Moreover,the flexibility of the lip portion of the sleeve 60 enables the latterto accurately conform to the changing contour of the reflector 28.

Although only one form of this invention has been shown and described,other forms will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.Therefore, it is not intended to limit the scope of this invention bythe embodiment selected for the purpose of this disclosure, but only bythe claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

l. A motor vehicle headlamp assembly, comprising: a headlamp including aparaboloidal reflector and a lens integrally joined at mating annularflanges; a support cylinder formed ofa flexible plastic material, saidsupport cylinder having a circular based adapted to be attached to themotor vehicle and a forwardly projecting cylindrical support sleeve; aflexible annular lip formed at the front end of said support sleeve, aconical seating surface on said front end directly engaging the outersurface of said reflector; an annular groove formed in the supportsleeve adjacent said lip; hoop means retained in said groove formaintaining the circumference of said support sleeve while permittinglimited flexing of said lip such that the latter can conform to thechanging contour of the paraboloidal surface during universal movementof said headlamp to an aimed position; a pair of threaded bossesintegrally formed with said base aligned with a horizontal axis and avertical axis of the vehicle; a pair of tabs formed in said base indiametrically opposed relationship to said bosses; an

annular retaining ring engaging the lens flange and having a rearwardlyextending cylindrical sleeve; a pair of locating clips attached to thesleeve and engaging said reflector flange to circumferentially index theheadlamp. said clips being circumferentially spaced so as to axiallyregister with the bosses; a pair of aiming screws adjustably connectedto the bosses and having a grooved head operatively connected to saidlocating clips, said aiming screws being operable to position saidheadlamp about said horizontal and vertical axes, and a pair ofextension springs yieldingly connected between said sleeve and said tabsfor rearwardly biasing said mounting ring and said headlamp intoresilient seating engagement with said conical surface, said springs incombination with the flexibility of the lip absorbing road vibrations atthe support interface between the reflector and the seating surfacewithout disturbing the position ofthe headlamp.

1. A motor vehicle headlamp assembly, comprising: a headlamp including aparaboloidal reflector and a lens integrally joined at mating annularflanges; a support cylinder formed of a flexible plastic material, saidsupport cylinder having a circular based adapted to be attached to themotor vehicle and a forwardly projecting cylindrical support sleeve; aflexible annular lip formed at the front end of said support sleeve, aconical seating surface on said front end directly engaging the outersurface of said reflector; an annular groove formed in the supportsleeve adjacent said lip; hoop means retained in said groove formaintaining the circumference of said support sleeve while permittinglimited flexing of said lip such that the latter can conform to thechanging contour of the paraboloidal surface during universal movementof said headlamp to an aimed position; a pair of threaded bossesintegrally formed with said base aligned with a horizontal axis and avertical axis of the vehicle; a pair of tabs formed in said base indiametrically opposed relationship to said bosses; an annular retainingring engaging the lens flange and having a rearwardly extendingcylindrical sleeve; a pair of locating clips attached to the sleeve andengaging said reflector flange to circumferentially index the headlamp,said clips being circumferentially spaced so as to axially register withthe bosses; a pair of aiming screws adjustably connected to the bossesand having a grooved head operatively connected to said locating clips,said aiming screws being operable to position said headlamp about saidhorizontal and vertical axes, and a pair of extension springs yieldinglyconnected between said sleeve and said tabs for rearwardly biasing saidmounting ring and said headlamp into resilient seating engagement withsaid conical surface, said springs in combination with the flexibilityof the lip absorbing road vibrations at the support interface betweenthe reflector and the seating surface without disturbing the position ofthe headlamp.